Volkswagen slapped with 1 billion euro fine by German government
German prosecutors issue one of the largest corporate fines ever over Volkswagen's diesel emissions cheating.
It's been three years since Dieselgate broke and sent the German car industry into a downward spiral of fines and indictments, but somehow, it's not over yet. In fact, the German government just levied one of its largest-ever penalties against a company by slapping Volkswagen with a 1 billion euro bill according to a report by Reuters.
"Following thorough examination, Volkswagen AG accepted the fine and it will not lodge an appeal against it. Volkswagen AG, by doing so, admits its responsibility for the diesel crisis and considers this as a further major step toward the latter being overcome," said Volkswagen representatives, in a statement.
Just a year after being smacked with a $4 billion fine by the US government, VW is getting handed a 1 billion euro fine by the German government for its diesel emissions cheating.
Volkswagen accepting the fine without any kind of pushback is interesting because it reads as a play to prevent further investigation into its past wrongdoing in Europe. This fine is also not the first to come in at over $1 billion for the company, as the US Environmental Protection Agency imposed a $4.3 billion fine in 2017, some of which is going toward building electric car infrastructure in the northeastern United States.
While this may spell the end of Volkswagen's diesel crisis in Europe, news that around 1 million vehicles built by Daimler means that it's unlikely that oil-burners will be leaving the front pages anytime soon.